In the field of automotive instrumentation, there is typically an instrument display panel located around the steering wheel. The instrument display panel typically contains several gauges or electronic displays that indicate various vehicle conditions such as vehicle speed, rotations per minute (RPM), temperature, oil pressure, fuel, etc. The type of display is usually either an electronic display showing a numeric or graphical image value relating to one of the aforementioned parameters. Another type of display involves a range gauge type of display where there is a range of values and a pointer that points to a specific value. For example, for engine speed, a gauge or a dial shows a number value or range of speeds going from zero to one hundred sixty kilometers per hour with various speed increments in between. A pointer then moves along the range of values indicating the current speed value. In an electronics display, a speedometer would show or display a numerical value for the exact speed that the vehicle is traveling without any indication of the range of values on a gauge.
The same can be true for a tachometer, fuel level indicator, or other displays. In a tachometer for example, an electronic display will state what the precise RPM is a given point of time, while a range type of gauge will use a needle that shows the approximate RPM value within a range of values. While knowing an exact numerical value is helpful as provided by an electronic display, it is also helpful to know where the numerical value falls within a specific range for a given vehicle gauge as provided by an analog display. It is therefore desirable to provide a vehicle instrument panel display pointer that provides both range and electronic or digital displays for a certain parameter.